Editor's note: This is one in a series visiting preseason drills for area high school football teams. The series will run through Saturday, Aug. 23. The MLive Muskegon Chronicle's preview section is scheduled to appear in print Sunday, Aug. 24.

BALDWIN, MI – A lot of the preseason attention on the Baldwin football team centered around if star quarterback Brandon Childress was going to play or not.

Childress, who has a double-digit number of a Division I basketball scholarship offers, changed his mind and decided he couldn’t skip his senior year of football.

Brandon Childress (MLive.com)

Once that decision was made and Childress was back in the fold for football, the focus is back on the team for the Panthers and coach Doug Bolles.

Bolles is expecting big things in his 10th season as coach. Baldwin went 7-3 a year ago and won the Mid-Michigan D title.

“At worst, we were 6-3 if Brandon didn’t play. Now we’re at worst 8-1 and I believe that Reed City better not look past us. They’re quality, I’m not saying that. My thing is, I think we’ll score. We have to be able to stop them," Bolles said, looking ahead to Baldwin’s opener against Reed City.

The Panthers also play in a newly formed football conference called the Up North 6 that includes Brethren, Onekama, Manistee Catholic, Mesick and Traverse City Christian.

There will be three Childress brothers to contend with in Baldwin’s lineup -- Brandon, Brenton, a junior back, and Braeden, a freshman, who will shift from QB to receiver.

But it all starts with Brandon Childress, a 6-foot-4 dual-threat who topped 1,000 yards passing and rushing as a junior.

“If you worry about Brandon running, my two running backs are better and quicker, and he can throw,” Bolles said. “We’re about seven deep at the receiver spot. I’m just glad I let Brandon do his thing and didn’t pressure him (about playing). I just let him go and I didn’t ride him, ride him, ride him about it.”

Bolles said the big goal now for the Panthers is to take the next step as a program with the first playoff victory in school history. The Panthers lost 19-7 in the opening round last year to Fowler and are 0-5 all-time in the playoffs.

Mark Opfermann covers sports for MLive Muskegon Chronicle. Email him at mopferma@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.